Sproul to Mount Dallas

This abandoned railway line was initially part of a network of Pennsylvania RR secondary routes that served the mining regions of Pennsylvania, south of Hollidaysburg. Judging by the SPV and DeLorme atlases, the line survived the Penn Central years but was abandoned under Conrail (1976 or later).

The route passed through rural villages and small towns. The pictures are presented from south to north.

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I believe that this railroad was severly damaged in a hurricane in 1974.

johnny stiffey
berlin, PA
8/7/2010

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The March 1985 issue of Railpace has a brief item about this - the line from Sproul to Bedford had been abandoned (by 1984?) but they did not mention whether it had experienced storm damage. The line to Mt. Dallas connected near Bedford. Beyond Mt. Dallas, shortline Everett Railroad had become isolated, so it relocated to the active former Conrail/PRR track that runs north from Sproul.

Mike Palmer
Torrance, CA
1/16/2011

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i saw pictures of rail and equipment.is it still there?please let me know any information on the rail and equipment.thank you.

george oakley
reading, PA
12/4/2012

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I would like to know if possible if there is a map of this abandoned rail line and where exactly it ran.Any information would be greatly appreciated.Thanks.

george oakley
reading, PA
7/13/2015

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The Pennsylvania Railroad called this the Bedford Secondary Track, and it once provided a route from Altoona to Cumberland, Maryland. PRR ownership ended at the PA / MD state line, where PRR met the Western Maryland's four-mile long State Line Branch. PRR (and later PC) had trackage rights over the WM State Line Branch to Georges Creek Junction at the west end of Cumberland Narrows, where the State Line Branch met the Connellsville Subdivision main line of the WM. PRR and PC crews had rights on the WM Connellsville Subdivision to City Junction in Cumberland, where interchange was made with the WM. PRR and WM once interchanged a lot of coal traffic, but by 1972, traffic had fallen to the point that PC was making the trip to Cumberland only two or three times a week, usually with a single GP7 or GP9 with a handful of cars. Service between Bedford and Cumberland ceased after Hurricane Agnes damaged the line in June 1972.

Service continued to Bedford another 10 years, until 1982. There were several customers in Bedford, and there was also the connection with the Mount Dallas Secondary Track, a 6.9 mile line from Creek (on east side of Bedford) to Mount Dallas. At Mount Dallas, PRR and later PC connected with the Everett Railroad, which was founded after the 1954 abandonment of the Huntington & Broad Top Mountain. The Everett Railroad operated the southern four miles of the H&BTM, and was formed to preserve rail service to Everett.

Conrail ended service on the Bedford Secondary and the Mount Dallas Secondary lines in 1982. The Staggers Act of 1980 gave Conrail the ability to abandon money-losing branch lines, and there was not enough traffic to support continued maintenance and operation on these lines. The Everett Railroad also ceased operations at the same time, as it had no other connection. The Everett Railroad, under new management, took over the eight mile portion of the Bedford Secondary between Brook Mills and Sproul in 1984, and continues to operate this portion today.

Steve Salamon
Valley City, OH
1/24/2016

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Thanks steve for information about this abandoned rail line.I was just asking about a map of this abandoned rail line to find out exactly where it ran.I am familiar with central pa.If you or anybody does know if a map of this abandoned rail line exists let me know.Thanks.